New Delhi:
More than a thousand people are now down with dengue in Delhi, and this may emerge as a final hurdle before the Commonwealth Games.
Twenty countries have written to the Organising Committee asking what is being done to control the epidemic and four countries have issued health advisories. Malaysia and Australia have said they are sending medical teams to Delhi in about a week to conduct an investigation of the facilities.
Families of athletes have already started withdrawing from the Games. The athletes, themselves, may be next on the list, and the government seems to be waking up to the troubles a little late in the day.
"There is a problem but it isn't the centre's job to control it, it's the state governments. I don't want to take any names, but there has been mismanagement," said Dinesh Trivedi, MoS, Health.
As the floodwater recedes, it has left behind pools of rotting water in the backyard of the Yamuna - Commonwealth Village, and unfinished construction at Siri Fort Sports Complex and the Thyagaraja stadium add to the problem. A reduced budget is not helping either.
"The budget may be the problem. Look at the Delhi government. It slashed our budget for health again this year. We are doing our best. Even without the money, the work must be done," said Prithviraj Sawhney, Mayor of Delhi.
Stadiums like the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium are expected to see packed houses, but with tourists dreading dengue, as well as other diseases like typhoid, cholera, and swine flu, the numbers will certainly not be met. The star athletes expected to play here may not make an appearance either.
While fingers are being pointed at the Delhi Government, that doesn't change the facts. The epidemic is expected to get worse, and the preparations aren't expected to get better.